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Gonzalo Higuain

Chelsea’s Premier League struggles in the 2015/16 season were well documented. Their defence of the title was shambolic and incoming boss Antonio Conte has a huge task on his hands to rebuild the side. Lewis Addley explores three top performers from Serie A who would improve the current Chelsea squad…

Strengthening the Chelsea squad is going to be the first area for Conte to address this summer after so many lapsed performances from the title winning side of just 12 months ago.

Chelsea have been renowned for a strong core through the middle of the pitch during their successful seasons and this is something they lacked in the 2015/16 campaign.

With Conte’s Serie A experience in mind let’s have a look at three potential suitors from the league who could stabilise Chelsea and become the new generation of core players.

Kostas Manolas

The Roma centre-back had an impressive 2015/16 season and strikes a number of qualities which arguably make him a good suitor for the Premier League. He is a hard tackler who can play out from the back, something clubs are looking for in modern-day defenders.

So let’s have a look at how the 24-year-old Greek international performed in the 15/16 season. He won’t come cheap and a number of clubs may be more tempting for Manolas, who will want to be playing Champions League football.

Key stats from Manolas in the 2015/16 Serie A season

As we can see Manolas played all but one game, averaging more than one tackle per game, nearly two interceptions per game, 4.3 clearances per game and he won 76% of his aerial duels. The Roma defender’s stats show how often he was in the right position

Radja Nainggolan

The Chelsea midfield lacked its industrial side through 15/16 and left its defence vulnerable to oncoming attacks in practically every game. Again from Roma, Nainggolan possesses the ability to break up play, move the ball quickly and keep things simple. He’s performance levels have alerted a number of the top clubs in Europe and he would surely come with a hefty price tag.

Nainggolan is 28, so he is in his prime and fitness providing, he could potentially offer six more years at the highest level. Let’s have a look at his key stats in Serie A from the 15/16 season.

Nainggolan’s key stats in the 15/16 Serie A season

The standout stat for Nainggolan is his pass accuracy, coming in at 85%. He averaged 1.4 tackles won per game and 1.3 interceptions per game. Nainggolan also adds the occasional goal and creates chances for teammates, both of which aren’t the main focus of his game, so he clearly has the all-round quality to be a success in the Premier League.

Gonzalo Higuain

Chelsea lacked quality in depth in striking options last season and the mixed bag of Radamel Falcao, Loic Remy and Alexandre Pato were insufficient support for Diego Costa, who too had a quiet campaign in front of goal.

Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain had far from a quiet season, he netted 36 times and broke the 66-year long standing record of 35 goals. The Argentine forward has a wealth of experience and at 28 he would be an ideal striker for just about any club in Europe.

As we can see, Higuain scored more than one goal a game, an incredible stat every striker strives to achieve. He set up two goals along the way and created 51 chances for teammates. His shot accuracy and pass accuracy may look a little low, but when you’ve scored as many as he did they are not concerning stats.

If Conte was to sign Higuain and play him alongside Costa he would have one of the most physical and deadly strike partnerships in the Premier League. Problems could well arise if Costa remains at Chelsea and Conte only opts for a lone striker, as neither of the two will be happy sitting on the bench.

While these signings are hypothetical at this stage it is worth mentioning the potential newcomers at Chelsea would be in for a tougher challenge in a more competitive Premier League.

However, as the stats mentioned suggest all three of these players are top performers and would be expected to improve the four-time Premier League champions and fire them back into a side capable of challenging on all fronts.

Would the Chelsea squad improve with these potential signings? Will Conte be given the funding needed to revamp Chelsea?

Arsenal could be set to miss out on one of their priority transfer targets this summer as Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain want to move to a club where he is guaranteed success, according to Fichajes.net.

The 27-year-old Argentina international is on the radar of Arsenal, Juventus and Atletico Madrid and could be set to stay in Serie A with a switch to Juve.

That news comes as a blow to the Gunners, with Wenger believed to be keen on acquiring the services of the former Real Madrid star, who is rated at £35.2 million by transfermarkt.co.uk.

Arsenal were strongly linked with Higuain before he joined Napoli for around £29 million in July 2013 and have kept tabs on the player since.

Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal sent an assistant to Napoli to watch the Serie A side’s Coppa Italia semi-final with Lazio tonight, with at least three players being monitored ahead of possible summer moves, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Italian duo faced off at the San Paolo, with Lazio coming out on top in a tight 1-0 win to seal a place in the final against Juventus, and United took the opportunity to watch some of their transfer targets up close.

Biglia is an experienced defensive midfielder, and was also a target for United in January but could be signed this summer for around £8 million.

His Lazio teammate Felipe Anderson is an exciting left-winger, who can play across the front line, and is also a target for Premier League leaders Chelsea.

The 21-year-old Brazilian forward has scored 10 goals with eight assists in 26 games across Serie A and the Coppa Italia this season and has already been watched by United scouts on a couple of occasions this year.

While Higuain is also being watched, despite being linked with a summer move to Arsenal. Van Gaal is going to need to strengthen his attack this summer as Radamel Falcao and Robin Van Persie are both likely to depart.

Arsenal‘s transfer links have been taking off over the last few weeks and the North London club are now favourites to sign former Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain, according to the Telegraph.

Higuain reportedly isn’t interested in another season without Champions League football with Napoli, giving Arsenal the green light to make a move for the Argentine should the Serie A side fail to finish in the top three.

Napoli’s push for Europe’s top competition is looking bleak after their loss to rivals Roma and Higuain has a wealth of experience in the Champions League, having scored 13 goals in 53 games.

The Argentine striker boasts an impressive goalscoring record throughout his European career. For Real Madrid he netted 122 goals in 264 games and at Napoli, a ratio better than one in two with 47 goals in 90 games.

Arsenal’s inability to win the Premier League since 2003/04 has often been linked with their lack of an out-and-out goalscorer. Higuain could certainly bring that to the side and could be part of a frightening duo with fan-favourite, Alexis Sanchez in attack.

Olivier Giroud has performed well this season since returning from injury but Wenger still needs a world-class finisher if the Gunners are to consistently challenge for the title.

The Gunners were interested in signing Higuain back in the summer of 2013 but the player eventually joined Napoli in a £34.5 million deal.

He is currently valued at £35.2 million on transfermarkt.co.uk but Arsenal would have to offer more than that to bring Higuain to the Premier League as he still has three years left on his Napoli deal.